


helianthus

by redlight



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Human, Awkward Flirting, F/M, Fluff, I Wrote This Two Years Ago, Pre-Relationship, Shyness, Social Anxiety, and british spellings, back when i still used past tense, dorks being cute and awkward, i cringed too hard to revise im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 22:38:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7380247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlight/pseuds/redlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A head poked out from behind a shelf; blond, almost golden hair and almost familiar dark blue eyes framed by rounded glasses and a slight, shy smile on his face. He must be the brother Alfred was talking about, he certainly <em>looked</em> the part. </p><p>"Uh, you can come back here, if you w-want- if you want," he stammered, and Anya found herself forcing the smile a bit more. The atmosphere in the entire shop had turned so much more awkward, and Anya couldn't help but blame him, as irrational as she knew it was. </p><p>At least he was attractive. </p><p>--</p><p>In which Anya needs flowers, Matt needs customers, and they both struggle to have a conversation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	helianthus

It was summer and it was raining, and Anya was decidedly  _not_  comfortable with the humidity. She'd had the habit of dressing too warm for the weather since she was a little girl, and she'd forgotten her umbrella, so it was  _really_  a relief when she finally reached the address Alfred had scribbled down on her palm.

(Which was rather rude. Common courtesy said to write directions down on a  _piece of paper_  like a normal person, not on the hands of unsuspecting innocents. But it's not as if Alfred would ever be known for being courteous.) 

Anya sighed and pushed open the door to the flower shop. Katya had pleaded with her to order the flowers over breakfast the day before; _you have such good taste in these things,_ she had said. _I'm far too busy right now, with the exams and planning and everything. And Natalia won't do it, she's determined to not help out with the wedding because she absolutely hates Eduard._  (Never mind that Anya wasn't too fond of Eduard herself.)  _So please, Annushka, do it for big sister, please? I know you dislike going out, but maybe it could even be_ fun _!_

Anya never  _had_  been able to handle seeing her sister beg so pathetically like that.

Her...she wasn't quite sure what Alfred was to her, but he certainly wasn't a  _friend_. Yet somehow calling him her greatest adversary-slash-most trusted comrade didn't exactly have the same ring. But Alfred had agreed straight away. (Anya belated wondered why he was even  _there_.) He'd grabbed her hands, smiled in what he obviously thought was a charming manner, and spouted some nonsense about needing to get out more and stop being such a recluse, also his brother just opened a flower shop, it be _great_ if Anya and her sisters could support him. Even though she'd never met said brother.

And so here she was, standing soaking wet in a quaint little flower shop. As warm as her coat was, it was most definitely  _not_  waterproof; it felt slippery and cool and all-in-all unpleasant on her body. Anya shivered and tried to brush away the hair that was plastered onto her face. Yes. Very unpleasant.

The flower shop wasn't much; shelves of various plant seeds and smaller household plants lined the aisles, there was a window that was thankfully not opened too wide, and at the back of the narrow store was what Anya assumed to be the cashier counter. 

It wasn't too interesting, until a rather quiet voice from the back called out. "Hello!"

Anya suppressed a sigh and forced a smile on her face; be polite, Katya said, because it's not nice to threaten people with a shovel, no matter how much Anya wanted to share the wonders of her shovel to the world. In her defence, it was a rather nice shovel. Though, honestly, she really didn't want to talk to this stranger, Alfred's brother or not.

She didn't like being so...so  _reclusive_. She'd never been able to handle large crowds, or even talking to new people in general. It was why Anya had so many nervous habits and fears. It was why Katya had promised a small and comfortable wedding, which Anya would be eternally grateful for; her sister was free to do whatever she wished and yet she  _still_ kept Anya in mind.

"Ah, hello!" she responded after realizing she may have stayed silent for too long. That wasn't good, that was just no good. A head poked out from behind a shelf; blond, almost golden hair and almost familiar dark blue eyes framed by rounded glasses and a slight, shy smile on his face. He must be the brother Alfred was talking about, he certainly  _looked_  the part. 

"Uh, you can come back here, if you w-want- if you want," he stammered, and Anya found herself forcing the smile a bit more. The atmosphere in the entire shop had turned so much more awkward, and Anya couldn't help but blame him, as irrational as she knew it was. 

At least he was attractive. 

"Um, yes, I was wondering you could help me?" she questioned, walking closer to the man- she assumed he was the owner, he was the only other person in the shop.

"Oh, uh, of course!" he mumbled, placing a packet of flower seeds back onto the shelf. "People come in here all the time, thinking it's the wrong place or asking for directions! I guess that's what happened to you too, eh? I know this area pretty well, though I guess you'd want to get to get to the place you originally wanted to go to, with the weather being what it is, and get there fast." He paused, before smiling apologetically. "Sorry, I go off like that sometimes. You're probably cold, with that coat, um, for now you can just hang it up on a shelf or something. I should get a coat rack."

Anya blinked and giggled nervously. Wonderful, an attractive male with an almost endearing awkwardness rambling about the fact that no one actually came to his flower shop for its intended purpose. Anya didn't know whether to find that cute, or simply pathetic. Or cutely pathetic. Pathetically cute, perhaps?

"Actually," she started, unbuttoning her coat and hanging it on a shelf as the man had said, as silly as it made her feel. She left her scarf on; it was closest thing to moral support she had right now. It was only one person, she reminded herself. She was  _fine_  when it was only one person. "I was needing flowers. For my sister's wedding!"

The man blinked, before a slow, happy smile spread across his face. "...really? Oh, that's, that's great! And your name is...?"

He headed to the back counter, and Anya followed, not knowing what else to do. "Anna Braginskaya, but you may call me Anya."

"I'm Matthew," said the man, having apparently fished out a notepad from god-knows-where. Anya found her nervous smile growing. She pursed her lips together to stop it. "But you can call me Matt, if you want," he continued.

"Matt," Anya said, testing the name out; the _T_ s sounded rather hard on her tongue, and she licked her teeth nervously. "Yes. Matt." She fished out the list of flowers Katya had given her from her sweater pocket (so much for Anya herself having good taste in these things). "I wanted to place order for, ah, wedding flowers."  _Wedding flowers_. She winced inwardly and shoved the list back into her pocket.

"Yes, your sister's wedding," Matthew nodded, a bit of an amused smirk playing at the edges of his lips. "You know what, Anya? It might be because you're my first real customer in weeks, but I think I'll like you."


End file.
